Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! (3:18) Description This is the opening of the CBC reality-based game show Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! The show pits two tweens against each other in a cooking contest. An additional obstacle is Mr. Gross, who tries to put the contestants off their game with unappetizing foods. Before 1. How might the beginnings of TV shows help viewers anticipate what they will see? (Beginnings of shows provide clues about the kind of show to come news, sitcom, drama and the content samples of news, sitcom, or drama stories.) Think about a TV show you watch often. What do you remember from the beginning of the show? Have students work in groups of three. Direct one student to describe the beginning of the show to the other two. Tell them to be certain to include descriptions of the use of colour and sound. Ask group members to listen carefully and identify clues from the description that tell what might happen in the rest of the show. 2. Recall to yourself a time when you or someone you know was surprised by friends or family. Who was happier, the people being surprised or the people doing the surprising? Why? Media Focuses Point of View Identify whose point of view is presented or reflected in Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible!, citing supporting evidence from the text, and suggest how the text might change if it were shown from a different point of view. Making Inferences Use overt and implied messages to draw inferences and construct meaning in Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! Conventions and Techniques Identify the conventions and techniques used in Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! and explain how they help convey meaning. Science Focus Demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics and properties of light and sound. Vocabulary Altercate Gross Target audience Tweens Direct students to compare their surprise experiences with a partner. Then compare as a whole group.
3. Tweens is a word used by marketers to describe people between the ages of 8 and 12 years. People in their tweens are influenced by two main groups: their friends and their families. What do you think tweens get from their families that they cannot get from their friends? (Unconditional love and support families provide, food and a place to live.) What do you think tweens get from their friends that they cannot get from their families? (Approval, understanding about what it s like to be a tween as they experiment with new relationships and ideas.) During 1. One video characteristic that keeps audiences interested is variety. Ask students to choose one of the following video elements and note how the makers of Surprise! changes it to keep the audience interested in the show: Camera angle (High, level, and low camera angles are used in alternation to keep the images interesting to look at.) Sound effects (Distinctive sounds are edited into the movement of the animated figures.) Colour (The animated figures are presented in bright colours, as are the jerseys of the two contestants.) Pixelization (The resolution of an image or a portion of an image is lowered by enlarging the pixels that compose the image. This effect is commonly used to obscure a portion of an image, such as a person s face.) (The face of the person installing the hidden cameras is pixelized. This creates a feeling of mystery.) Superimposition (One image placed on top of another image.) (Animated figures bounce around on top of the studio set.)
2. How does the opening of the show use camera angles, editing, and titles to build the suspense? Direct students to select one of the following: a) camera angles b) editing c) titles This will form three groups. Direct students to watch and note ways that their chosen video communication (camera angles, editing, or titles) builds suspense, leading up to the surprise. a) camera angles (Hidden cameras inside the vehicles and in following vehicles show the unaware contestants.) b) editing (An animated map showing the two vehicles converging on the studio is intercut with shots taken inside the two vehicles.) c) titles (Words and images that indicate the two contestants likes and dislikes are shown. The audience is left to wonder why this information is relevant to the upcoming events.) 3. Pathetic fallacy is a term used to describe a situation where the audience knows something that a TV character does not know. How does the program use editing to tell the audience that Tyler and Aviva are going to a cooking contest? (We see shots of the animated map and the studio as the two vehicles converge.) How does the program use editing to tell the audience that Tyler and Aviva do not know about the contest? (We see shots Tyler and Aviva discussing a hockey team meeting and a musical rehearsal.)
After 1. Most half-hour TV shows run 22 minutes (the rest is commercials and promos). The first few minutes provide hints about what viewers might expect to see and hear in the rest of the program. Direct students to use their listening and viewing skills to infer what viewers might expect to see in the rest of the program. Some questions that might help students are: The content: What is this game show about? (Viewers see and hear evidence of food and cooking.) Who will play the game? (Images and narration identify Tyler and Aviva.) What are the challenges in the game? (Narration identifies cooking.) How will they win? (Narration indicates they must cook for their friends.) The audience: What is the age of the target audience? (Musical styles, animation appeal to tweens. People in the shots are tweens.) Why is it important for the target audience to be interested in gross things? (Images show that a major obstacle in the show is dealing with Mr. Gross.) Identify a target audience that would not want to watch this show. (Adults would not respond positively to the music or Mr. Gross.) What clues did you hear and see that tell you these things? (Images of animation, music, sound effects, Mr. Gross s challenge.) Related Instructional Focuses Reading Focus: Direct students to visit the school library. Ask them to identify books that would appeal mostly to a tween audience and explain why. Then ask them to identify a book that would appeal mostly to an adult audience and explain why. Writing Focus: Direct students to imagine that they have been chosen as a contestant on Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! Have students write a brief description explaining which of their friends they would want to surprise them and the meal they would want to cook for their friends. Have them explain why they chose this food. Listening/Speaking Focus: Direct students to create and deliver a 30-second radio commercial that would encourage a tween audience to tune into Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! (Students can watch Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! to listen for sounds and voices that they might use in the radio commercial. They should identify and use qualities of the game that would appeal to tweens, such as cooking with and for their friends and having to deal with Mr. Gross. They can then use these qualities in their descriptions of the show. Students can produce the commercial using microphones and sound-editing software [Audacity is a free download] or perform it live while reading the script.)
The broadcasters: Suggest some likely advertisers that might be interested in sponsoring this show. (Sponsors who produce goods or services for tweens: breakfast cereals, candies, soft drinks, waterparks, etc.) Suggest some likely advertisers that might not be interested in sponsoring this show. (Sponsors who produce goods or services for other age groups: bran-filled breakfast cereals, life insurance, baldness medications, etc.) Suggest a likely day and time for the scheduling of this show. (A convenient time for tweens to watch often the after-school time slot.) Suggest a very unlikely day and time for the scheduling of this show. (Prime time, [8 11 p.m.] any day or weekday mornings.) 2. One way to help students understand the particular tween-like characteristics of Surprise! It s Edible! Incredible! is to ask them to imagine an alternative form. What would the producers need to change to make this show appealing to adults, e.g., your parents or guardians? How would you make the show s title more appealing to adults? (Culinary Challenge or Cookoff.) Who might adults cook for instead of their hockey or ringette teams? (Their co-workers.) What kinds of music might appeal to adults? (Oldies, symphony, jazz.)